The Federal Communications Commission is committing over $12 million in new funding through the Emergency Connectivity Fund (ECF) Program.
The money will be used to provide funding for successful applications from the third application window, and will benefit about 35,000 students across the country, including students in Arkansas, Connecticut, Illinois, South Carolina, Texas and Washington. The funding will support approximately 45 schools, five libraries, and one consortium.
The connectivity and devices can be used to support off-campus learning, including nightly homework, to ensure students have the necessary support to keep up with their education, the FCC said.
The Emergency Connectivity Program, started in 2021, provided schools and libraries with three different “application windows” to apply for support.
So far, the program has provided support to approximately 11,000 schools, 1,000 libraries, and 120 consortia, which in turn, provided nearly 13 million connected devices and over 8 million broadband connections, with a total of about $6.68 billion of funding awarded to date. Approximately 17 million students have benefited, the commission said.
Approximately $4.14 billion of funding awarded to date went to applications from Window 1; $834 million came from Window 2; and $1.71 billion came from Window 3.
Earlier this month, the FCC awarded $24 million through the Emergency Connectivity Fund program.
“While the school year is winding down, the need to get all our students connected remains a priority so kids can access online assignments and engage with teachers,” FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel said in a prepared statement. “This program has made important progress in helping to close the Homework Gap.”
Hi this is bylinda Floyd and wanted to get helped with Emergency Connectivity Fund Program so I can get money for an apartment.
trying to find out how to get some help finding Housing low income family that is homeless with children under age 18 thank